#1 Take Initiative – Stay ahead of the game. Don’t wait for someone or something to tell you what you should be doing to further yourself towards your goals. Don’t wait for doors of opportunity to open- go open them! Constantly find new ways to stretch and grow yourself, and you will find that your life is producing more results.

“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” - Proverbs 6:6-8

#2 Focus – Ultimately you are the one who chooses how to use your time. Ask yourself what is important to you and where you want to see yourself in the future. What would you like to change about your routine now? Write down these goals and focus on them. Take daily steps to work towards your dreams and ideals for yourself, no matter how big or small they...

"The leading rule for men of any calling is diligence" - Abraham Lincoln

Why be diligent? What will I actually gain from being diligent in my marriage, in my faith, at work, in athletics? In this blog, we quickly and concisely lay out the 7 things Solomon says in Proverbs that one gains in diligence.Solomon doesn't speak of diligence as a measure of hard work, but as a measure of smart work. Just as a man shouldn't attempt to cut down a tree with a hammer, when a chainsaw is readily available, you shouldn't think of working hard when true diligence is to work smart.To distinguish here, we are not talking about laziness. Solomon wasn't instructing us to sit around playing Candy Crush all day. Instead, he gives us 7 rewards to look forward to when we are truly diligent in our day to day life.

#1 You will gain sure advantage. Would you rather take over Walmart or Dollar General? Apple or Dell? Of course, you would like to own something with sure advantage, so why not strive for a life...

Fueling Your Success. Solomon talks about the importance of a power source that contributes to fuel our success. A source so potent that it can place the most out of reach dreams right in front of us for the taking. What is it? The power source of our success is vision, and the fuel is hope. We think of vision as a whimsical dream and hope as a wish. This makes these two both seem very intangible when Solomon tells us that they are in fact very real. Solomon mentions how most of us have a vague vision (being more successful, wealthier, etc.) when in fact our vision must be far more detailed. It should be a map that shows us a detailed path to a destination.

The Importance of Vision. Solomon says, "Where there is now vision, the people will perish." Vision applies to many areas of our life. When someone mentions that they are having problems with their marriage or problems at work, they usually expose what is causing these problems when they are asked to explain their...

Whether we choose to believe it or not, greed is present in all of us. If we allow for greed to take root within us, then it will keep us from achieving what we value most in life. Solomon shows us how to prevent greed from consuming our lives.

How Bad Do You Want It? Solomon describes greed as a deep yearning for something or wanting something so badly that we will do whatever it takes to get it. Greed isn't about what you want, whether it be cars, money, a bigger house, etc. Rather, Greed is about How bad you want it. This deep desire for something can grow in us like cancer. When we finally achieve that one thing we desperately wanted, our greed does not just vanish at that moment. We continue to want more.

Consequences of Greed. Greed is a powerful thing that can impact us in more ways than we can imagine. First, it can take away your life. Greed will become the center or our daily lives and purpose. We look to find fulfillment in money and other material...